Iconic former Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, who last month was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, is at spring training through the end of February in his role as a team special assistant. After the first full-squad workout Monday, he talked with reporters about the status of the team entering the fourth season of its rebuild and discussed top prospect Ronald Acuna and other matters including the third-base battle and the overall vibe around the organization under new general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
Q. What did you think being out there on the first day of full-squad workouts, being on the field and seeing the young guys, the energy level, all that?
A. It's great. The first day of spring training is like the first day of school, getting to see all the guys again. And obviously the guys that are out here playing, they've got something to prove. It's fun to watch. There's really only a couple of spots where you can say this team is cemented in certain areas, but everywhere else it's a free-for-all. That makes for a good, competitive camp. No one's assured of anything. See how the young guys respond to it.
> Photos: Chipper arrives at camp as an instructor
Q. Do you like what you see, how it feels, the atmosphere, just being around the guys a little bit?
A. Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of bright eyes around here, you know? A lot of guys it's their first camp. I was talking to Freddie (Freeman) this morning, he's like, 'I don't know anybody.' Some kid walked by, he goes, 'No clue (who the kid was).' It's funny. It's not what I'm used to. I'm used to guys coming in and the roster being pretty much set with the exception of maybe a couple of bullpen spots, maybe a couple of bench spots. And now it's just a free-for-all. But it's exciting to have gone through and watched this transformation for the last few years where, quite frankly, it's been slim pickings as far as wins. But it's exciting now because we're getting to the point where we're going to start seeing the minor league system bearing fruit at the big-league level. That's always an exciting time.
Q. What stands out to you the most – is it the pitching, the position players, it is a combination of both, the progress of the rebuild?
A. Well, I think it's going to start with the pitching. Obviously you want to see the (Luiz) Goharas and (Kyle) Wrights and (Mike) Sorokas and (Kolby) Allards and (Bryse) Wilsons and guys develop and get their feet wet. (Max) Fried. Get up here and, you saw some of it last year, it'll be interesting to see some of the growth and development since the end of last year and over the offseason to what they have coming into this spring training. We're certainly looking forward to seeing how these guys respond to big-league hitters, being in a big-league locker room, being around established big-leaguers, and see how they fall in. The guys that are ready will stand out right away, and the guys that aren't quite ready, they'll take their lumps down here and go somewhere, whether it be Double-A or Triple-A, and get the necessary seasoning before they're back up here.
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Q. Would you say Ronald Acuna is the most advanced prospect you've seen at that stage since maybe Andruw (Jones) or yourself?
A. Oh, he's way ahead of me. I would have to lump him in with Andruw, just because going and graduating three levels in one year – he's as good a prospect as I've seen. His bat stays in the zone a long time. He's going to make consistent contact. He's not quite what Andruw was in the outfield, but he's not far off. And I think he's going to hit more from foul pole to foul pole with damage than Andruw did. So I'm excited. You've got your one cornerstone guy in Freddie, and it's going to be interesting to see if he can continue to develop and become the second guy.
Q. How do you communicate with Acuna (given the language barrier)?
A. I don't say much to Ronald. You don't have to say much to him. As far as me watching him in the cage, he does nothing that I would change. I mean, the ball explodes off his bat. Like I said, he's got a great bat path, his bat's in the zone a long time, and you can't teach that, it's God-given. Whoever taught him taught him very well. So if it ain't broke, I ain't looking to fix something that's not broke.
Q. On Acuna being able to make adjustments within games and even within at-bats:
A. I saw him in Triple-A last year and he's facing guys that had big-league time and they know how to move the ball around the strike zone. And they might get him the first time up or maybe even the second time up, but very rarely did he not come back and make an adjustment and get them. The first ball I saw him hit in Triple-A was off a guy with big-league time with the Phillies, and I mean, a bullet off that cement wall in Gwinnett. So at that point – that was my first at-bat I'd ever seen him – I was sold. I mean, the ball just … it's got that sound. I can sit here and I don't have to watch BP (batting practice), I can listen to BP and tell you who the hitter is. And when he makes contact up there at the plate, you know it.
Q. On the message for players in camp, coming from (manager Brian) Snitker and from the staff and team officials in general:
A. Guys need to know that this team and this organization is tired of the last few years. We're a very proud organization. We've been through kind of a rough offseason with the changing of the guard, but I think everybody's ecstatic with the job that Alex has done while he's been here. He's still getting to know everybody, but there's definitely a little change in attitude. You can see just in the way the coaching staff is putting together spring training. It's a lot more organization, it's a lot more delegation of responsibility.
Q. On Ozzie Albies entering his first full season
A. Ozzie had a great showing last year in his last month or two (in his major-league call-up). I think Ozzie is where he needs to be at second base; I think the glove plays at second base. He's a really good defender out there. His right-handed swing plays. His left-handed side is his weak side, he's going to have to continue to develop that just as it was with myself at 19 or 20 years old. Every day you come to the park you're taking twice as many swings as you do on your weak side as you do from your strong side, and eventually it'll take hold. But he's got a wealth of talent. He's a rarity because he's a little guy, but he ain't up there trying to slap no singles. Sometimes it infuriates you, hitting at the time of the lineup. But then he gets hot and he starts throwing doubles, triples and homers out there, with his speed he can do some things to help be a catalyst hitting especially at the top of the lineup in front of Freddie.
Q. On biggest difference now compared to spring training when he was coming up:
A. Experience. There was experience everywhere. You could lean on half a dozen guys to be able to sponge off of. It's not a lot of experience here. You've got a couple of guys in Freddie and (Nick) Markakis, but they're not the most vocal guys. I think because they're quiet maybe some young guys might be a little nervous going up and talking to them and what not. That would be the biggest difference that I would think. But these kids are so good, they're so confident right now that heck, I'd say you just go out and let them play and let's watch all the fun that happens.
Q. On third-base battle between Johan Camargo and Rio Ruiz
A. I'm a huge Camargo guy. I think since I came back in the fold after I retired, he's probably been the most improved player that I've seen in this organization. He was a guy that was a slap hitter from both sides of the plate, swung a wet newspaper at the plate. And he's really turned himself into a – he's always had the ability to catch and throw at short, now he's playing third. The fact that he's a shortstop and they're trying to find a place for him to play says a lot about his ability and what they think about him in there, because, you know, what did he hit, .290 or .300 as a switch-hitter last year? And he's a slick fielder. So you've got to find somewhere for him to play. Rio is the other guy. Not a great Triple-A year last year, but he's a guy who's going to go out there and catch it and throw it, and if you put him in there against the good right-handers, he's going to have some success.
